Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation, Browne Variation
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 e6 7. f4 Be7 8. Qf3 h6 9. Bh4 Qc7
The Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation, Browne Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO B98, reached after 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 e6 7. f4 Be7 8. Qf3 h6 9. Bh4 Qc7. It is a line of the Sicilian Defense. White is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 32 times by this move order. White won 31%, 3% were drawn and Black won 66%. The most popular continuation is 10. O-O-O (81% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.31 (Stockfish, depth 38; best line 10. O-O-O Nbd7 11. Be2 b5 12. Bxf6 Nxf6)
- ECO
- B98
- Moves
- 18 plies
- FEN
rnb1k2r/1pq1bpp1/p2ppn1p/8/3NPP1B/2N2Q2/PPP3PP/R3KB1R w KQkq - 2 10- PGN
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 e6 7. f4 Be7 8. Qf3 h6 9. Bh4 Qc7
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 1 | |
| 1500-1999 | 9 | |
| 2000+ | 22 | |
| All | 32 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 10. O-O-O | 26 (81%) | |
| 10. Bd3 | 4 (13%) | |
| 10. Bf2 | 1 (3%) | |
| 10. g4 | 1 (3%) |
Master games
182 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 42%, draw 22%, Black 36%). The strongest:
- GM Jan-Krzysztof Duda (2739) – GM Fabiano Caruana (2788) 0-1 · GCT Super Blitz Poland · 2026-05-08
- GM Tal Baron (2541) – GM Ian Nepomniachtchi (2705) 0-1 · 31st ECC Open 2015 · 2015-10-22
- Joseph Zeltsan (2405) – GM Vladimir Kramnik (2753) 0-1 · Titled Tue 17th Sep Late · 2024-09-17
- GM Rui Gao (2543) – GM Wojciech Moranda (2593) 0-1 · PRO League Group Stage · 2019-01-23
- IM Seyed Khalil Mousavi (2480) – GM Farrukh Amonatov (2624) 0-1 · 5th Karun Cup 2018 · 2018-02-18
Search all games of the Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation, Browne Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- joobree (2574) – NM logozar (2560) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- Narendra23_T-19 (2377) – OCristovao (2538) 1-0 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 2s
- obilv (2433) – Ristic58 (2448) 1-0 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 2s
Comes from
Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation (7. f4 Be7) 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 e6 7. f4 Be7
More Sicilian Defense lines (all)
- Sicilian Defense (1. e4 c5) B20
- Sicilian Defense: Amazon Attack B20
- Sicilian Defense: Big Clamp Formation B20
- Sicilian Defense: Bowdler Attack B20
- Sicilian Defense: Brick Variation B20
- Sicilian Defense: Czerniak Attack B20
- Sicilian Defense: Czerniak Attack, Queen Fianchetto Variation B20
- Sicilian Defense: Euwe Attack, Prins Gambit B20
- Sicilian Defense: Gloria Variation B20
- Sicilian Defense: Grob Variation B20
- Sicilian Defense: Keres Variation B20
- Sicilian Defense: King David's Opening B20
Opening names and moves from the Lichess openings dataset; statistics from the Lichess open database, 2026-09 (CC0), sample of 12.6 million games, bots excluded; evaluations from Lichess cloud analysis (all CC0). Master games from The Week in Chess #920–#1664 by Mark Crowther, used with permission.